Pest 1

In presenting the exhibition “Plague, Cholera and Corona – Epidemics Yesterday and Today”, the Münzkabinett (Coin Cabinet), part of Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (SKD) is addressing a particularly current topic. From 27 May 2023 to 1 April 2024, 170 items from its own holdings will be on show – some for the first time – at the special exhibition rooms in Dresden’s Residenzschloss, along with medals from the Brettauer Collection at Vienna University’s Department of Numismatics and Monetary History, and loans from private collectors.

Throughout history, epidemics have not just posed a challenge for humanity but also sparked societal change and medical advances. This exhibition uses coins and medals to study epidemics of the past and present, asking: How did people see them at the time? What fears were triggered by the outbreak and spread of these diseases? What grounds were there for hope?

The exhibition spans the period from the “Antonine Plague” (165–180 AD) to the coronavirus pandemic (from 2019 on). Seeking protection from epidemics, people turned first to gods of healing such as Asclepius, and later to Christian saints such as St. Sebastian or St. Roch, who were depicted on coins and medals. From the 18th century on, religious motifs increasingly gave way to the awarding of vaccination medals, depictions of nursing and dedications to doctors or scientists. Some of these new pictorial topics were revisited during the coronavirus pandemic, especially those of thanking health workers and lauding scientific research on infectious diseases.

Please register for the press conference at presse(at)skd.museum by 4 p.m. on 23 May 2023.